James Handy, 81, was found unconscious on his front garden with a stab wound to the chest, according to police

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Top Gun actor James Handy has been fatally stabbed outside his home.

The Jumanji star was killed in Los Angeles on Wednesday, 3 June.

His girlfriend’s son, Michael Gledhill, 44, allegedly told officers he was the person they were searching for, according to the California Post.

Los Angeles Police said they received a deeply disturbing call at around 9.30am on Wednesday from a man who stated “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.”

Officers rushed to Handy’s address on the 19200 block of Erwin Street in Tarzana, where the 81 year old was discovered unconscious in his front yard with a stab wound to the chest.

He was pronounced dead after being transported to hospital.

Shortly afterwards, the suspect flagged down police and told them he was the man they were looking for.

Gledhill had been living at home with his mother, and investigators are yet to establish a motive.

He is currently being held on $2 million bail.

The police statement read: “On Wednesday, June 3, 2026, around 9:30 a.m., West Valley area patrol officers responded to a radio call of unknown trouble in the 19200 block of Erwin Street.

“The 911 caller stated, ‘I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin.’ Upon their arrival, officers discovered 81-year-old James Handy in the front yard of the residence, unconscious and suffering from a stab wound to his chest.

“The victim was transported to local hospital by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics, where he was pronounced deceased. The suspect flagged down nearby responding officers, telling them he was the one they were looking for. The suspect resides at the location with his mother, who is the victim’s girlfriend.

“Detectives believe this is an isolated incident and there appears to be no danger to the public at this time,” the police statement said.

Handy’s most recent appearance was in Top Gun: Maverick. Throughout a career spanning back to the 1970s, he also featured in numerous television programmes.

Among them were The West Wing, NYPD Blue, Castle and The X-Files.

Homemade sausage rolls are tasty and easy to make

Sausage rolls are a wonderful snack, made even more enjoyable when prepared at home. There are countless recipes available online to follow, including one from Mary Berry. This particular recipe from Tesco Food boasts more than 35 five-star ratings and requires just three straightforward ingredients.

The recipe notes said: “Could this be the easiest sausage roll recipe ever? You need just three ingredients to create the tastiest snack for your picnic, lunchbox, party or afternoon tea break.”

This recipe yields 16 sausage rolls and takes just over an hour from beginning to end.

Three-ingredient sausage roll recipe

Ingredients:

• Six pork and apple sausages
• Two tablespoons of Bramley apple sauce with cider, plus extra to glaze
• 375g light puff pastry

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220°C or 200°C Fan, then squeeze the sausage meat out of its casing into a bowl.

Mix together until smooth, then stir in the apple sauce and season to taste.

Next, unroll the pastry and slice it in half lengthways. Split the sausage mix in half and shape each half, offset from the middle, along the length of the pastries.

Fold the wider side of the pastry over the top of the meat and press a fork along the border to seal.

Repeat with the other length of pastry, and put both uncut sausage rolls into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

Cut both lengths of sausage roll into 8 even pieces and place them on a large, lined baking tray.

Repeat with other sausage rolls, then lightly brush a little apple sauce over them for a delicious glaze.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown, and enjoy warm.

These are best enjoyed on the day of baking but can be reheated the day after.

Jon Boutcher backed a call by Henry Nowak’s parents that his death in Southampton should not be “used to create division”

Some people from ethnic minority communities in Northern Ireland are stockpiling food in their homes out of fear of potential race hate incidents, it has been claimed.

It comes after disorder broke out in Ballymena and spread to other parts of the region last summer.

Police figures have indicated an increase in race hate incidents, with 2,367 recorded between April 2025 and March 2026, up 561 (31%) on the previous year.

These represent the highest recorded levels since the data series began in 2004/05.

PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher’s latest accountability report to the Policing Board said crimes with a racist motivation increased to 1,507 in 2025/26 from 1,187 in the previous financial year, an increase of 27%.

It also said that a victim satisfaction survey found that those who believed the PSNI treated them with fairness and respect had increased to 85.1%, with almost 70% of victims satisfied with their contact with officers.

During remarks to the board on Thursday Mr Boutcher expressed concern about the “malign influence of bad actors spreading extreme and hateful disinformation on social media”.

He backed a call by Henry Nowak’s parents that his death in Southampton should not be “used to create division”.

“There are those who decide to seek to use any incident in our communities to create misunderstanding, generate fear and provoke hatred,” Mr Boutcher said.

“I, like everybody here, was devastated to watch the footage of Henry Nowak’s arrest and death.

“My heart goes out to Henry’s family who, with great dignity and humility… make clear his death would not be used to create division.

“Offensive murals, banners and posters have recently been erected in parts of Northern Ireland. It’s incumbent on all of us to stand up to all forms of hatred.”

Former Community Relations Council chairman Peter Osborne welcomed the comments by Mr Boutcher.

He put to the leadership of the PSNI that the report “shows that race hate incidents and crime from a very high level are getting even higher, both numerically and proportionately”.

He said he has heard from ethnic minority communities an appreciation of PSNI outreach at a senior level, but also of anxiety and fear of “what’s going to happen over the next number of months”.

“I even hear of people storing food in the house,” he said.

“To be clear what that means, there are people, because of the colour of their skin, believe that over the summer they may be so frightened that they or their families will not leave the house for long periods of time.

“You mentioned bad actors, whether it’s banners appearing where the legislation is clear about removing it, or whether it’s people on social media or any other manifestation of that race hate – how are you preparing for the summer?”

Mr Boutcher replied: “We have a really good relationship with ethnic minority communities. I meet them regularly.

“We’ve had some really difficult major disturbances in the last two years. I’ve spoken to this board about me meeting families who weren’t reporting activity against them and never have, because there was an acceptance of it, and now they are reporting that.”

Mr Boutcher said officers are “always alive” to incidents elsewhere causing tensions, leading to disorder on the streets of Northern Ireland.

“I do have some real concerns because of what I’ve seen happen this week, but we are ready for it, and we’re reassuring people,” he added.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

The New World screwworm fly is threatening the $113 billion U.S. cattle industry for the first time in more than a half century, with an infestation from its flesh-eating larvae confirmed in south Texas.

The infestation was discovered in a single 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio and 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal and state officials had been working to keep the parasite from reaching Texas, home to $17 billion worth of the nation’s cattle, making it the industry’s No. 1 state.

The deadly flies were detected in Mexico late in 2024, after years of being contained at the southern end of Panama.

The fly was an annual warm-weather scourge of cattle ranchers from at least the 1930s through the 1960s, until the U.S. eradicated the pest by breeding sterile male flies and dropping swarms of them from planes to mate with wild females. The USDA said the most recent case was the first in Texas since 1966.

Here is what to know about the fly, the threat it poses and the response:

Being unusual makes the flies a threat

The New World screwworm fly in the Western Hemisphere and its Old World cousin in Africa and Asia are unusual among flies because their larvae, or maggots, eat live flesh and fluids instead of dead material. Females lay their eggs in open wounds and mucous membranes after mating only once in their monthslong lives.

Any warm-blooded animal, including wildlife, pets and occasionally even humans, can be infested.

Livestock are vulnerable because of how they’re handled, Lee Haines, an associate research professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, said in an email Thursday. Standard practices with cattle can break the skin, including shearing and de-horning, or even moving them in and out of corrals can cause scrapes and cuts. Birth would also make a mother and calf vulnerable, she said.

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Stephen Diebel, a Texas rancher and president of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, added that even wounds “as small as a tick bite,” can put cattle at risk.

Death can result if an infestation is not treated, though a dozen treatments have been approved for use in a variety of species. In decades past, ranchers had tens of millions of dollars in losses — potentially billions in today’s dollars.

But agriculture officials were quick to note that the fly does not infest food, and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said it’s unlikely to damage beef production — welcome news given that consumers are already facing record prices.

Officials sounded alarms for nearly 2 years

Federal and state officials and cattle industry leaders have been sounding public alarms about the fly’s movement through Mexico and toward the U.S. since a case was confirmed in southern Mexico in November 2024.

Officials had considered the pest eradicated from Central and North America nearly two decades before an outbreak in Panana prompted a state of emergency there early in 2023, according to the joint U.S.-Panama program established in 1994 to stop the parasite. Cases jumped to Costa Rica and Nicaragua later that year.

Edward Burgess, a University of Florida entomologist who studies the fly, said it reproduces quickly and is carried across wide areas by its hosts, namely wild animals such as deer. Outside of Panama, he said, programs that produced and released sterile flies have largely shut down.

“It’s hard to stay ahead of it because of how fast that fly is able to move and regenerate,” Burgess said.

Outside the US, thousands of animals and hundreds of humans sickened

As of June 2, the parasite had sickened more than 171,700 animals and 2,000 people across Central America and Mexico, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been 10 human deaths, the CDC says.

Starting in May 2025, Rollins closed border entries to livestock and on Thursday she credited that move with delaying the fly’s arrival in Texas by a year.

Rollins has argued that the Mexican government has not done enough to control animals moving within the country, a suggestion Mexican authorities have rejected.

But Haines said climate change is a key element in the spread of a tropical species that thrives in warm weather. Warmer temperatures are expanding the fly’s habitat and cold snaps that killed them off each year in marginal habitats are becoming less frequent and less severe, she said.

Officials quarantine a swath of Texas

Texas State Veterinarian Bud Dinges imposed a 12-mile (20-kilometer) quarantine zone covering much of Zavala County, home to La Pryor, and a small part of neighboring Uvalde County. Animals cannot leave that zone without being inspected.

Local ranchers are concerned that the fly will spread among wildlife, particularly deer, as a small, short-lived outbreak did in the Florida Keys in 2016. That was the last time a U.S. case was confirmed among animals, though the CDC confirmed a case last year in a Maryland man who had traveled to El Salvador and recovered.

Zavalas County Sheriff Eusevio Salinas said Thursday that state officials were setting up several road checkpoints in the county to enforce the quarantine.

“They said they were going to do that for three to four days, and hopefully after that it’s already under control,” Salinas said.

In Texas, shots and fly drops

Diebel, whose family ranch is about 200 miles (322 kilometers) east of the quarantine zone, said ranchers are proactively giving injections that prevent screwworm infestation. They’re also taking extra care to treat wounds from ear tagging and other practices and keeping a close eye for signs of illness.

The USDA has been dropping sterile flies in south Texas since February, when it opened a center for dispersing them in south Texas. It is now dropping them twice a week, for a total of 4 million flies, and it’s also putting 4 million more a week in the ground as pupae, flies in the stage between larvae and adult, said Rear Admiral Michael Schmoyer, a member of the USDA’s response team.

Releasing sterile files is both time-tested and highly effective. While males are “promiscuous,” in the scientific sense, females are not, and if their one mating hookup is with a sterile male, no eggs from that female will hatch.

Once sterile males are prevalent enough, the fly’s population declines and then dies out.

But with sites outside Panama shut down for years, the USDA didn’t think sterile flies were being bred fast enough. It invested $21 million in a new fly-breeding facility in southern Mexico that is expected to start operations next month.

The USDA also is spending $750 million to build a fly factory in southern Texas that can produce up to 300 million sterile flies a week. It is expected to begin operating next fall.

The owners of rise, which has served customers in Fossgate since 2022, is gearing up to unveil its fifth café.

Announcing the news on social media, a company spokesperson said: “Five years ago we had one shop. Now we’re getting ready to open number five.

“We’ll be sharing sneak peeks, clues and behind-the-scenes images over the next few weeks.”

Recommended reading:

Eagle-eyed supporters of the small business noticed that the venue appeared to be in Museum Street, in the unit once occupied by Cocoa Joe’s.

The popular café opened in Fossgate in 2022 (Image: Supplied)

As The Press reported, Cocoa Joe’s closed its doors on June 1, 2025, citing a sharp rise in cocoa prices and other costs as reasons behind the decision.

Rise began its first venture in Preston in October 2019.

Founded by Jack and Leigh Norton, rise’s York location has become a firm favourite with city dwellers and visitors alike.

Its brunch menu lists breakfast classics, among a range of drinks, acai bowls, bakes and gluten-free and vegan options.

Museum Street in York (Image: Google Maps)

The company recently began hiring for baristas, bakers and till crew for its new York café.

Aside from Fossgate, rise also has cafés and brunch spots in Exchange Flags, Liverpool and Miller Arcade and Fishergate in Preston.

Speaking at the Fossgate opening, owner Jack said: “Our ethos isn’t crazy, we’re there for great food, coffee and service with good vibes all round.

“We just work how any restaurant should, it’s just something we’ve felt is a missing courtesy in most restaurants these days.

“That’s why we opened rise. We want everyone to come in and leave with a good memory.”

For more on this, please see here.

The Friday letters page wonders what GTA 6 conspiracy buffs will do after the game comes out, as a reader asks after Rayman Legends Retold’s music levels.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Late night
So tonight’s the night for Summer Game Fest and I’m in two minds… about whether to stay up for it or not. First of all, kudos to the genius who thought this was a good thing to put out on Friday night. The organisers so completely don’t care about Europe that they list the start time on their website as 9pm GMT… so I’m not even 100% sure when it starts.

Personally, what I’m hoping for is Resident Evil Code: Veronica, Alien: Isolation 2, Devil May Cry 6, and a new FromSoftware game. I’m sure we won’t get all of those, but I think all of them are possible to some degree. I’m also interested in that Star Wars XCOM clone.

I also think there’s a reasonable chance Sony could show Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Sony are weird about Summer Game Fest and more than once have shown something there that wasn’t in their own State of Play.
Casper

All aboard
I thought Wolverine looked terrific, basically everything I’d want in a game about a little nearly-indestructible nutter with big metal claws. I’m glad they didn’t try to make it open world and that it’s taking a more linear approach. Hopefully this’ll lead to a wide variety of locations and enemy types.

The combat looked weighty, fun, and visceral and it seems like it’ll be filled with spectacular set pieces. I can understand frustrations that most AAA games don’t really do anything new but I’m having a ton of fun with 007 First Light, which is essentially Hitman x Uncharted, so Batman: Arkham x Uncharted will do me for Wolverine.

The new God Of War also looked amazing, although I think the talking sidekick thing was a bit jarring and it remains to be seen how annoying that could become over the course of the game. Lots of cool stuff to look forward to though.
Magnumstache

Hammer time
I was a big fan of Rayman Legends when it came out. I still play it now and again and find it odd this was the one they chose to reboot, as it still looks great on Switch and PlayStation 4. I do quite like the 2.5 D visuals but I’m a bit concerned these new Panzer Dragoon style sections have replaced the music rhythm sections at the end of levels.

That would be a real shame as I loved those bits. Has there been any chat about whether there still in the game or have they been ditched due to licencing issues or something?
Somasonic

GC: Apparently there’s going to be four new ones, with one of the songs being U Can’t Touch This by MC Hammer.

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Less than perfect
Another vote for how amazing the gameplay is in Saros. I would urge anyone on the fence to play it as you won’t find much better, especially if you haven’t played Returnal yet.

The one thing that didn’t change enough for me was the level design, I was hoping for bigger areas or even FromSoftware type map design. However, it was too similar to Returnal in that respect, with each level cut into the small fight rooms.

Still, don’t let that put to you off I still couldn’t put the game down. So highly recommended.

Looking forward to their next game or even the studio (Cosmic Division) formed by game director of Returnal who quit Housemarque during the early years of Saros development.
Carlos

Slow leaners
That’s a big ol’ yikes on PlayStation 5 sales dropping by a half after the price cut. I know that people were probably saving up to buy it before the price change, but it does show that Sony’s position isn’t untouchable. 12% of nothing is still nothing, when you’re talking about Xbox Series X sales, but it Is proof that with the right exclusives Xbox could’ve made a difference.

It’s far too late for that now, including for Project Helix (I believe) but the takeaway for everyone should be that exclusives are the most important thing and getting rid of them for a trivial profit on PC or other formats is hurting yourself for no reason. Exclusive are the whole reason you exist! Sony does seem to have learnt this now, but how they never understood that before they started I’ll never know.
Jayden

Half-finished
I empathise with Alex and his troubles installing 007 First Light. I too bought the disc version of the game specifically because I don’t have super-fast internet, and First Light seemed to take ages to install mainly due to an extra mandatory download. This whole problem with buying fundamentally incomplete games that need massive downloads got me thinking. Is there any other product/service that you buy full price that’s incomplete to the extent that it doesn’t serve its function?

If a chef half cooked your dinner in a restaurant you’d be rightly cross and would send the meal back.

I guess a dentist might do some big jobs in stages/multiple appointments, but there’s usually a good reason for that other than he/she couldn’t be bothered to finish your filling.

Are all games released unfinished nowadays? Another weird aspect I’ve found with buying disc-based games is that modern consoles initially try to download a new game even after I put a game disc into the machine. I have to turn off my internet to get the console to install the game from the disc.

I really don’t understand what objection a console might have to using a game disc that’s already in the machine.
Michael Veal (@msv858)

GC: Publishers in general don’t want you to buy physical games, they want you to buy digitally because it’s more profitable for them; so they’re not really interested in making things easier.

Post-launch roadmap
These weirdos trying to get into Rockstar HQ, to force them to do whatever it is they’re upset about, is crazy. All that nonsense about a constant police presence and sirens going off… the building is in the middle of Edinburgh, right outside the parliament building. You’d think someone else would’ve noticed if something’s going on like that.

I’m sure there’s a CCTV camera pointed at every square inch of the building, and probably hefty private security, but there’s no need to make up all that crazy other stuff. I don’t know what some of these people are going to do with themselves when the game comes out. Actually, I do: they’ll just complain that it isn’t 100% exactly the game they’ve been imagining, because that’s how these things always go.
Endof

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Glass half full
I found the showings of Wolverine and God Of War Laufey highly impressive. The games look to be the zenith of the cinematic blockbuster Sony/Naughty Dog formula that so many value the PlayStation 4 and its catalogue for.

I do, though, understand and agree with the feeling of having seen it all before. Sony have used the same formulas and templates in so many games in a short space of time. Familiarity producing indifference is to be expected.

The games have also never been anything particularly new gameplay and systems wise. The gameplay and systems have always been very good but it’s the production values that have always been the standout feature of them. But the sum of the parts is fantastic.

Even though the gameplay wasn’t that risky Sony did take massive risks with the first batch of games on PlayStation 4. Both in greenlighting new IP and taking risks on big IP like God Of War. It was very successful and maybe where the confidence/arrogance came from for the nutty live service plans.

I do think Sony need to diversify though. They put out far too many similar games. It would be nice if they did that with more double-A games, like Astro Bot, but also taking a risk on a big triple-A games again. When the latter is done you can get games like Zelda: Breath Of The Wild or God Of War 2108; special games, surprising games.

In general, though, I feel more positive about Sony these days. The live service failings have seen them downscale those ill-conceived plans. Along with making single-player games PlayStation exclusive again it seems they are taking a long hard look at themselves.

I’m cautiously optimistic but as it takes so long to make games it’ll be a while before we know the outcome and as they never say anything about strategy these days, it could just mean they’ll double down on the current house style and franchises and milk them for all they’re worth. Time will tell, I guess.
Simundo

Inbox also-rans
As an avid supporter of 3D brawlers like Devil May Cry, God Hand, Ninja Gaiden, Bayonetta et al. – not to mention the earlier classic entries in Santa Monica’s series, especially the PlayStation 3 games – I really liked the look of the more aerial dynamic fighting style in God Of War Laufey!
GG

Better late than never on the Elden Ring annoucement for Switch 2 but please, I need to know what From’s next multiformat game is. Why won’t they tell us?!
Rackem

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: Did Marvel’s Wolverine make a good impression in the State of Play?

MORE: Games Inbox: Will God Of War Laufey be a good game?

MORE: Games Inbox: Will tonight’s State of Play be a good one?

Tracey Spensley, 35, of no fixed abode, formerly of Croxdale appeared at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court on May 29.

She admitted multiple counts of theft and failing to surrender to bail.

The court was told that between February and May 2026, Spensley targeted outlets including Aldi, Lidl, TK Maxx, Tesco, Next, Sainsbury’s, and Savers, taking goods worth more than £2,300 in total.

For the offences, Spensley was sentenced to 24 weeks’ imprisonment, with many terms ordered to run concurrently.

The court found the crimes were “so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified”, citing her record of previous offending.

Compensation orders were also made to the affected retailers.

“We want to make our communities a hostile environment for those involved in the drugs trade and the message from this operation is clear: there is no safe place for you in North Belfast”

A police operation in North Belfast has recovered firearms, ammunition and drugs over a two-week period.

Officers took part in the operation last month in the city which involved 10 separate searches that found £15,000 of suspected cocaine and crystal meth along with £2,000 of cannabis vapes. Police also say £85,000 in assets such as cars, cash and other items were seized.

Three men were arrested as part of the operation which remains ongoing.

Speaking following the operation, Inspector Matthew Adams said: “The detection and disruption of organised criminals involved in the supply of drugs is a policing priority for police in North Belfast.

“This proactive operation shows that when we have the right information, we can take decisive action to protect our communities from the harms caused by drugs.

“We want to make our communities a hostile environment for those involved in the drugs trade and the message from this operation is clear: there is no safe place for you in North Belfast.

“Anyone with information regarding drug dealing or supply can contact local police on 101, or online at http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/

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“Reports can also be given to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. The help and assistance of the public is crucial in tackling drug supply and removing dangerous drugs from our streets.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Over the past month, there has been a notable increase in the intensity of the air war in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Strikes in mid- and late-May and early June have been characterised by significantly larger numbers of drones and missiles deployed by Russia in single attacks, leading to more destruction and more casualties.

At the same time, Russian territorial gains on the ground have slowed significantly, and in some cases have been reversed by successful Ukrainian counter-attacks.

The change in intensity in the air war, however, is what generates headlines, and for good reason. Two consecutive Russian attacks on May 13 and 14 were the largest in the war to date.

Ten days later, a similar strike hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. And a week after that, Russia launched yet another large-scale strike.

Just focusing on the Russian strikes, however, masks an important pattern of increasingly effective Ukrainian retaliation.

The first Russian attack in May was followed by Ukrainian strikes on the Moscow region. The second one saw Ukrainian strikes on St Petersburg on June 3, just before Vladimir Putin’s St Petersburg International Economic Forum was due to begin there.

At the same time, Ukraine has also intensified its strikes on Crimea and critical Russian supply lines to the peninsula, which Moscow has illegally occupied since 2014.

This series of Russian and Ukrainian airstrikes represents a high-intensity retaliation cycle. Ukraine responds to a Russian strike, which Moscow then uses to justify its massive strike, and so on.

What is new is both the scale of the Russian strikes, with larger numbers of drones and missiles compared even with the peak of attacks in late 2025, and the quickening cycle of these tit-for-tat attacks.

Ukrainian attacks deep into Russia are no longer just symbolic but highly effective – prompting Russia to accuse Ukraine of a terror campaign, in an attempt to deflect from its own systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure.

In their levels of destruction and civilian casualties, the Russian strikes also seem more effective than in the past – and Ukraine’s air defences less so. But this is only partially true. Ukraine’s intercept rate of drones remains high. However, the larger number of drones being deployed by Russia means that, in absolute numbers, more drones hit their targets.

Russia has also deployed more missiles in recent strikes, which Ukraine finds harder to intercept – not least because its stockpiles of anti-missile defences have been depleted over time, with the decrease in US support since Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025.

The recent diversion of US interceptors to the American war effort in the Middle East has also run down the stocks of these defence systems that are available to Kyiv.

Can this intensity be sustained?

Russia has thus been presented with an opportunity it is ruthlessly exploiting. But how sustainable is the current pattern?

The scale and frequency of the past four weeks is probably beyond Russia’s capacity to sustain indefinitely. While still large in scale, the strikes in late May and early June did not involve the same number of munitions as the first wave.

Russia is clearly able to mass-produce cheap attack drones, but less able to do the same for missiles. So, sustaining larger-scale attacks over time is likely to decrease their frequency, while more frequent attacks will mean a more limited scale.

A mixture of the two is most likely – a sustained campaign of frequent massed drone strikes, with intermittent spikes of large missile barrages.

While this may be a sustainable attack pattern for Russia, it does not mean the current level of effectiveness is equally sustainable. Ukrainian air defences will adapt and become more effective, including against Russian missiles.

Its defence cooperation with the EU is simultaneously improving. The lifting of Hungary’s veto on €40 billion (£34.6bn) of EU reimbursements for military support is likely to free additional funds to supply critical air defence systems to Ukraine.

Even with a sustained Russian air campaign, a manageable equilibrium is likely to set in over time. But critically, this will not merely be characterised by better Ukrainian defences against Russian attacks – but also by more effective Ukrainian strikes at Moscow’s critical war infrastructure.

The Russian air campaign, and the war against Ukraine more generally, will thus become more costly for the Kremlin – and not just on the battlefield inside Ukraine.

Whether this simply creates a different stalemate at a more costly level for both sides in their ongoing war of attrition, or prompts them to reassess their exit strategies, remains to be seen.

For Moscow, there is a hard choice to be made: towards escalation, including potential nuclear mobilisation, or towards a peace deal. The middle ground of simply continuing is quickly eroding, because none of Putin’s strategic goals in the war can be achieved this way – and the ongoing waste of resources cannot be sustained indefinitely.

On the Ukrainian side, the statement by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that Ukraine’s recent strikes on Russia put the country on an equal footing with Moscow in negotiations, hints at Kyiv’s willingness to negotiate an end to the war with Moscow. However, it may take several more rounds in the air campaign retaliation cycle before the Kremlin reaches a similar conclusion.

A judge on Thursday dismissed a murder charge against an Arkansas man who won the GOP nomination for sheriff while awaiting trial for the shooting death of his teenage daughter’s alleged abuser.

The ruling came weeks before Aaron Spencer, who will be on the November ballot, had been set to face a jury on a second-degree murder charge. He won a March primary over the local three-term sheriff whose office had arrested Spencer in Lonoke County, which has roughly 76,000 residents and is heavily Republican.

Spencer’s attorneys do not deny that he shot and killed Michael Fosler in 2024, saying he did so to protect his child. Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. granted a motion by Spencer’s attorney to dismiss the charge over a dash camera memory card that may have captured the shooting and was lost by law enforcement.

“The court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted,” Wilson wrote.

At the time of the shooting, Fosler, 67, was out on bond after being charged with dozens of sexual offenses against Spencer’s then-13-year-old daughter.

Court documents show on the night of the shooting, Spencer had woken up to find his daughter missing, and later found the girl in the passenger seat of a vehicle Fosler was driving. Spencer forced Fosler’s truck off the road and, after an altercation, called 911 to report he had shot the man.

Prosecutors said Spencer planned the killing and that he could have called police while pursuing Fosler. But Spencer pleaded not guilty and maintained he acted to protect his child from a predator.

Spencer’s attorney, Erin Cassinelli, said she is thankful for the court’s decision.

“No member of this family should ever again be forced to walk into a courtroom and relive this horror,” she said in a statement. “This father should have never been charged for protecting his child.”

Spencer said he is grateful this chapter is over and that his focus is now on his family and returning to normal life.

“There’s still work to do in Lonoke County, and I’m more committed to it than ever,” he said in a statement. “Together we can build a safer and stronger Lonoke County.”

Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Graham did not return messages Thursday seeking comment on the decision.

The Associated Press typically does not identify sex abuse victims, but Spencer has made his daughter’s experience with the criminal justice system a central part of his campaign for sheriff, pledging to establish a dedicated team to combat sex crimes against children.

Spencer’s attorneys filed the motion seeking to have the case dismissed, contending that video and audio of the dash camera from Fosler’s truck may have contained evidence that would have cleared Spencer of any wrongdoing. According to court records, a detective with the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office removed the dash camera from the truck when responding to the scene of the shooting.

But the camera’s internal settings were not preserved and the battery of the camera was allowed to drain, and as a result the camera went back to its default settings. When the camera was sent to the attorney general’s office for a forensic exam, the memory card that was in it when it was collected from the truck was missing. The detective who collected the camera later admitted that it was not logged into evidence right away, but was instead stored in his personal office rather than the evidence room, according to court records.

Wilson replaced the original judge handling the murder case in January after the Arkansas Supreme Court removed Judge Barbara Elmore from the case, finding she had issued an overly broad gag order that violated Spencer’s First Amendment rights.

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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press reporter Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.